SPECIAL FEATURE
large amount of money every year on deep
watering chambers and sumps where water
ingresses into the chambers. They have
to pump it out in a safe way because it’s a
contaminated substance. The Cable-Tight
solution addresses this issue as it stops the
fuel leaking out and water from leaking in.”
The materials used previously included
rubber seals to contain the hydrocarbon
and keep out water. However over time, the
elastomers in the rubber start to breakdown,
whether through exposure to hydrocarbon
gas or because of exposure to a high temperature
and a humid environment. Franklin’s
new system design holds the elastomers
under compression so the exposed
faces are significantly reduced. Furthermore
the electro fusion process takes away 90%
of the elastomers that were previously used
- resulting in a more robust system.
An end-to end solution
The latest innovation forms part of Franklin’s
complete end-to-end solution that allows
live on-site monitoring. From the connection
points on the dispensers, to the
tank gauges monitoring fuel levels and leak
detection sensors - all information is fed in
to the Evo Automatic Tank Gauge Systems,
which gives site operators a unadulterated
view of what is happening on their site
at any given moment and raising the alarm
should anything go wrong. “If for example a
car collides with a fuel dispenser on a forecourt,
which results in leakage, this would
Paul Ridge, Head of Engineering
at Franklin Fueling
ENTV interviews Paul Ridge.
The ENTV team at the
Shell Barton Mills site.
A transition chamber for
easy accessibility.
be picked up by the system and the fuel flow
would be shut off by the Shear Valves. We
are always focusing on the end-to-end system,”
Paul explained.
Keen to get a customer’s view on the
Franklin system I popped in to Shell’s Barton
Mills site just outside Bury St Edmunds
to find out how the products benefit retailers.
Karuna Gnanasegaram, Site Manager explained:
“Day to day we need to be able to
easily access and analyse tank gauge reports.
If we can’t access this information and
see what is happening live on the site then
we can’t run our business. We need to monitor
things carefully throughout the day and
the products from Franklin Fueling enable
us to do just that.
Cutting edge technology
Franklin pride themselves on not only delivering
end-to-end solutions for sites like the
one I visited, but also in their ability to develop
products based on the information they
receive from local markets.
It took the Franklin team two years to develop
Cable-Tight, with much of this time
spent adapting the technology for North
American market legislation, which differs
considerably from the rest of the world. The
technology in fact was so cutting edge that
Franklin had to work alongside UL regulators
as they did not have a system for testing
the new technology. The result was a rewrite
of the regulations to allow for the innovative
developments, something Paul was delighted
to be part of: “It was great to develop a
product knowing it is far better than anything
else in the world. We have always been a
proactive company in terms of development
and design. We led the regulatory authority
through the process which was a challenge
at times, but also really rewarding that they
were willing to rewrite the regulations because
they can see the real world benefits
of the products that we have designed.”
Supporting the build process
The end-to-end solution doesn’t stop here
however as Franklin also examine the build
process to ensure their products are properly
installed and maintained. Contractors
have to be trained and certified by Franklin
to work with their products via the FFS Pro:
University. They also work with site designers
and educate them on the most optimised
way of laying out the station.
So whilst Paul acknowledges that pipes
and containment may not be the most exciting
equipment, he says he does love to see
the real world benefits Franklin’s innovations
bring: “At the end of the day we want everyone
to get home safely. We want everybody
to sure that their commodities are safe and
that there is no leakage into the environment.
That’s where our buzz comes from.”
You can watch an ENTV video report of our
visit to Franklin Fueling online at:
www.erpecnewslive.com.
erpecnews is published by McLean Events, Conferences and Media Ltd. 17